Posted on Jan 9, 2021 11:08 PMIntroduction
One of the gardening books I find valuable here in St. Paul, Minnesota, is Month-by-Month Gardening in Minnesota, a revised edition (© 2006) by Melinda Myers. I don't know if there is a general series; it looks like this is just for Minnesota, but I bet other states have similar books. The idea is to tell you what you need to be doing every month of the year, for different categories of plants. I thought I'd start with this month as part of the blog, and talk about each section.
The book has an introductory section which covers general gardening practices, and includes a handy hardiness zones map of the state. Ramsey county, where I'm located, is firmly in Zone 4A territory, as we can get down to -30°F air temperatures in the winter.
Chapter One: Annuals
Each chapter talks about how that category of plants is used, soil requirements, care tips, and so on. I don't have any special annual plans, apart from herbs, but they are in a separate chapter. Of course, the only annuals we might grow in Minnesota in January are indoors! I have the following plants growing in my living room:
- Boston Fern
- Purple Heart
- Spearmint
- Spider Plant
I'm not worried about how they are doing. All the same, these are the sections for the January chapter:
Planning
Myers focuses on planning. Now is the time to evaluate how your garden grew last year, and decide if you want to expand or contract areas. Knowing what you want to do will help you decide what to acquire. This prevents you from ordering all the annuals that catch your eye. She goes into a lot of detail. She does suggest purchasing seeds you intend to start indoors.
Planting
This is the time to prepare a light set-up for starting plants indoors! She has a drawing of a set-up using a fluorescent fixture on a pulley system, so you can keep it six inches above the seedlings. These days, one would likely use LED systems, which use less power and and less fragile compared to fluorescent tubes.
Care
There is but one paragraph here, and it is about geraniums. If any you have stored have started growing, now is the time to plant them with your indoor lighting system.
Watering
She gives advice on watering annuals kept indoors, as well as seedlings.
Fertilizing
Indoor growing conditions require little in the way of fertilizer. She says to only fertilize plants with signs of nutrient deficiencies. My Boston Fern might benefit from a little bit of plant food, though, as it looks a little pale.
Problems
There are critters to watch for: Fungus gnats, mites, aphids, and whiteflies. She gives advice on how to deal with these pests; sometimes, she'll refer to other months' pages so she doesn't have to repeat herself.
Grooming
She advises pinching back leggy plants, to encourage branching and stouter stems.
As I said, I don't have any annuals being planned to go in the ground this spring, so I'm not starting seedlings and such. I have LED lights on a timer to make sure they get twelve hours of light every day. For the next chapters, if I'm not really doing anything, I'll just give a passing mention to the chapter.
Chapter Two: Bulbs, Corms, Rhizomes, and Tubers
Most of this chapter is devoted to Amaryllis plants, and other non-hardy bulbs. But I don't have any of those; there are some hostas from the previous owner, and ferns that pop up every year in the shady spaces. I'm not thinking of any non-hardy or non-native bulbs, so I'll pass on this.
Chapter Three: Herbs & Vegetables
My wife was in charge of our vegetables last year, here's what she planted in the raised beds:
- Three different kinds of lettuce (six plants)
- Three different kinds of sweet peppers (three plants)
- Six broccoli plants
- Nine tomato plants
She has already put some garlic into one raised bed, and we will put onions in the other raised bed; she's read about Egyptian walking onions (
Allium cepa var.
proliferum which are perennial in Minnesota) which can be used as scallions. We may get some "regular" onions, too.
She thinks we should get fewer lettuce, pepper, and broccoli plants, because we didn't keep up with what was growing. We just couldn't eat it fast enough, or give it away fast enough, though our new neighbors did get some fresh-off-the-stalk vegetables this past summer. We will probably move the tomato plants to the raised bed, and have fewer of them; we still have canned tomatoes from 2019 we haven't eaten!
We're considering carrots as a "new" vegetable. We've tried potatoes before, but got hit with potato bugs. My wife is also thinking about maybe trying peanuts.
I took care of most of the herbs that got planted this past year, which included:
- Cilantro
- Sweet Basil
- Thyme
- Flat-Leaf Parsley
- Rosemary
- Oregano
- Chives
- Spearmint
I did get some seeds from a friend for a Thai Basil plant, so I'll probably get that started this year. Otherwise, my main motivation with herbs was to have those I prefer fresh, and to grow them outside because I didn't really have any indoor space for them to get enough light. I'll likely grow the same ones as before. I might get one thyme plant instead two, this year. The oregano came back on its own last year, and the chives are perennial here. Cilantro comes back from the seed it dropped.
Chapter Four: Lawns
While we do have grass, I'm trying to reduce how much we have, not increase it. To that end, there are two big projects:
- Cover the grass outside the west living room windows.
- Excavate a rain garden on the north side.
Covering the grass is to kill it off, so we can plant something much more interesting there. The rain garden is to accept runoff from the downspout in the northwest corner of the roof, and the sump pump output.
In the book, most of the page for January suggests considering a lawn care company. The rest indicates that you should shovel your walks before applying deicing salt, so it stays where it should be. It also notes that you shouldn't use fertilizer, as it will not penetrate frozen ground, and will run into the drains with the first melt. It also advises you to watch for areas where snow and ice accumulate, as it can affect the lawn and possibly lead to mold growth.
The final note is that voles (I suspect our old friend the short-tailed shrew) make tunnels under the snow, and can wear paths in the grass. It may be necessary to rake and overseed those areas in the spring.
Chapter Five: Perennials & Ornamental Grasses
This is the chapter I look at most often, apart from the one on trees. It has some nice hint tables on things like plants which don't require much watering.
For January, the main idea is to review what was in the garden last year, to think about what to do in the coming growing season. What should be expanded or reduced in area? Otherwise, let snow mulch your plants. Add additional mulch only if the snow goes away. The goal of winter mulch is to prevent a premature set of above-freezing temperatures from warming the soil and getting the plants to grow too soon.
Related to this, they talk about holiday trees. We put our Christmas tree outside. It is now on its side by our feeders, and the small birds seem to enjoy resting on it and moving over, under, and through it.
It is also important to pay attention to tracks in the snow, and see what animals may be nibbling or digging around your plants. Just tonight, I noticed a pair of rabbits out there. We've had deer in the yard several times. I think my Red-Osier Dogwood has gotten nibbled, so I may wrap it to prevent that continuing.
Chapter Six: Roses
I don't have any roses planted, and don't intend to put any in. There are a few species which are native to my county which I might consider, but I have no immediate desire for it.
Chapter Seven: Shrubs
My Red-Osier Dogwood and the "Autumn Brilliance" Serviceberry are my current shrubs of choice. The January tips are as follows: Consider what plants you might want to add to your garden. Prepare your tools for the growing season by cleaning and sharpening them. Do not shake or brush frozen snow off plants; if a plant can't tolerate icy snow on its branches, be sure to protect it this coming fall for next winter. Look for signs of animal damage. Wait on pruning until the snow melts and the worst of winter has passed, so you can see what you have left to work with.
In my case, I'm hoping the Serviceberry comes back better than last year, now that it is protected behind a fence. I need to do something about the Dogwood; I want to get more this coming year. I've entertained the notion of maybe getting a pair of Blueberry bushes, but I don't know that I'll do that this year. Still, I could investigate it some, and see what the options are.
Chapter Eight: Trees
The Dogwood could count as a tree if it gets big enough, but my main plants in this category are the following:
- Winterberry Holly
- American Red Pine
- Northern Red Oak
- Colorado Blue Spruce
- A couple of unidentified maples
The Winterberries didn't produce much in the way of berries last year, but I suspect dear were nibbling them. I've left old plant cages around them, but I suspect I'll need to do a more involved fence option this year, like I did with the Serviceberry. I don't plan on getting any more of these.
The Minnesota-native Red Pine is the "outside" Christmas tree, though it is getting pretty big. I could see getting another of these, to put in the northwest corner of the yard. It would give us a bit more shelter, and if we got a small enough one, it could start as a new "outside" Christmas tree that is easier to light-up.
The Red Oak is just in miserable shape. This is the time of year to prune it, but I failed to mark the dead branches in the early fall, so I'd know what to cut. I could go for the basics, such as crossed branches and such. But this tree has been eaten by deer quite often. It may not even survive the winter. We will likely have to remove it, if we do anything. I would like to have one oak on the property, if not more, but we have to plan the location well.
The Colorado blue Spruce trees are the giants in our yard. They came with the house. But they were planted by the original owner in the 1930s, and they're hitting their lifetime. We've already lost two in the last fifteen years. I would enjoy planting more tall trees, and I mind find another Minnesota evergreen to provide some variety with the Red Pine.
The maple trees are in the northeast and northwest corners of the yard. I don't know the exact species, but they seem to be the same. I'm content leaving them, because I think they are a native species. They are also in a good space and don't require much in the way of pruning. That said, there may be low branches on the northeastern maple that need removal to protect the roof of the house, and the northwestern maple has a sick branch where there used to be a pulley anchored.
The book advises planning locations that can handle a tree when it is fully grown. Sharpen your tools. Shovel snow before you use deicing salts. Oaks should be pruned in winter to reduce disease problems. Trees in general can be pruned when dormant, since it lets you see the branch structure clearly.
Chapter Nine: Vines & Groundcovers
My main vine is the grape vine, and we saw how well that did. However, it should be pruned back this winter, before the sap starts to flow. I have thought of a type of clematis, native to Minnesota, that would grow in more alkaline soil, and I have a place in mind for that.
I do want to get some groundcover and some spring "ephemerals" that will provide blooms for insects early in the year.
On a related note, my wife would like some piece of statuary to go in front of our northern bedroom window.
And That's It!
So, this gives you an idea of the things you can be thinking about, or doing, while the snow is on the ground and freezing temperatures prevail.
